UEFA Champions League: Liverpool progress despite defeat; Bayern through
Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Inter Milan at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg tie. Despite the defeat, the Reds progressed to the quarters after having earlier beaten the Italian giants 2-0 at the San Siro. Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski scored a sensation hat-trick to help Bayern Munich thrash Red Bull Salzburg at home. Here's more.
Bayern thrash RB Salzburg 7-1
Bayern hammered RB Lalzburg 7-1 to win the two-legged tie 8-2 on aggregate. Lewandowski gave Bayern an unassailable 3-0 lead before Serge Gnabry added another in the 31st minute. In the second half, veteran forward Thomas Muller scored a brace as Leroy Sane added the seventh. Salzburg, who showed a lot of promise in the first leg, were nowhere near that level.
Fastest hat-trick in UCL history
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick within 23 minutes against RB Salzburg tonight. As per Opta, this is the earliest treble ever scored by a player in UEFA Champions League history from the start of a match. The veteran striker surpassed Marco Simone for Milan versus Rosenborg in 1996 (24 minutes). Lewandowski also netted his fifth hat-trick in the Champions League.
Double delight!
Notable numbers for Lewandowski
Lewandowski's hat-trick has seen him race to 12 goals in the 2021-22 edition of the Champions League (highest). Lewandowski now has 85 goals in the UCL. The Polish international has 42 goals in the 2021-22 season across competitions. He has surpassed the 40-goal mark for the seventh consecutive season. He has 336 goals in 364 matches for the Bavarians.
Muller races to 52 Champions League goals
Muller netted a brace for Bayern, taking his Champions League tally to 52 goals. The German international steered clear of Thierry Henry, who netted 50 times. Muller has four UCL goals this season from eight games and 12 overall in all competitions.
Inter overcome Liverpool but crash out
Lautaro Martinez's lone goal saw Inter win. Martinez struck in the 61st minute to give Inter a ray of hope but Alexis Sanchez got a red card two minutes later. Liverpool applied pressure but suffered a maiden defeat this season. Prior to this, they had sealed seven successive wins. Mohamed Salah struck the post a couple of times.
